


Semper Fidelis (Always faithful)

by AdelvinaGaarder



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Fix-It, Hurt/Comfort, Love/Hate, M/M, Minor Background Changes, Rating May Change, Slow Build, Time Loop, Time Travel, characters will be added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-22
Updated: 2017-07-22
Packaged: 2018-12-05 10:58:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11576685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdelvinaGaarder/pseuds/AdelvinaGaarder
Summary: "I was angry at him, still angry at him. I wanted his apology, as much as I seeked his forgiveness for the things I have done. But then I realized it wasn't the revenge or the hatred that motivates me, all of these is a remedy. I want him to accept me. I want him to believe me. I want him to love me."Leo is confined in a time loop coerced. His only exit: Save Takumi from his inevitable fall in the Great Wall of Suzanoh. A chessboard Leo has no control of, when Takumi being a wild card wouldn't bend to his will. Goes back in time, Leo experienced the bitter taste of death and failure, but also the budding relationship that kept him faithful in his course.





	Semper Fidelis (Always faithful)

It began like one of his nightmares.

Takumi wondered, why Leo looked so vicious and angry when he could have dreamt of him smiling, why Leo was holding his tome against him when he could have dreamt of him walking down the hallway chuckling, why he and Leo must confront when all he ever dreamt of was reading together under the soft sunlight.

A bitter smile crossed Takumi’s face. Why would he brother to ask? Fate must have a cruel sense of humor to lead his path here, his home war ravage, his family war torn, his friend betrayed.

“Do you know how much I scarified in order to save you?” Leo’s sharp tone sliced the heavy air between them. “My Brynhildr tainted by my brother’s blood, my sword scattered of my sister’s blood, with my bare hands I squeezed Azura’s windpipe. Saving you and failing to save you drives me insane. How many times must I witness the pair of ember eyes loses focus? No breath or heartbeat in that body of yours?”

Leo screamed. His eyes narrowed and the black flames surrounding him grew stronger. Even standing a distance from him, Takumi couldn’t stop his heart from picking up pace. The flames burnt down the wall, torn through the bricks, turning the Great Wall of Suzanoh into a living hell.

And throw them into blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Was that it? Leo thought bitterly.

They said losing your way on a journey is unfortunate. But losing your reason for the journey is a fate crueler. Leo tried to recall, his purpose in these, only to realize he was a lost boat in the middle of the ocean: No direction when the horizon is boundless sea, he could feel the merciless water pulling him down, deeper and lost in the abyss. 

“Everything ends tonight. You, me, them.”

Will there be hell awaits? No doubt murders like him would be punished to the darkest corner of hell. But Leo wasn’t afraid. A strange thing when madness finally crumpled you, it made the scales and the fear fall, it gave you the courage to kill and put an end.

Takumi, the second prince of Hoshido.

Original sin.

Leo walked toward Takumi, stepping on the burnt down remains, undeterred by the blood and flame.

“No one will stop me.”

“No one!”

Grabbed by the collar, Takumi was shoved to the wall. Their eyes met, all Takumi could see was a pair of blown wide eyes reflecting obsession and insanity. Leo’s constant shadows in his eyes, nightmares even more frequent than his own, all the missing puzzle pieces came together in his mind. He was so close, so close to realize what was restlessly torturing Leo.

“Listen to me, whatever you think you’re doing, you will regret this!”

“You know nothing, Takumi!”

Out of breathlessness, Takumi aimed and punched Leo’s abdomen, sending the soccer prince a few steps back. While Leo was fazed by the shock, Takumi took the blade on the other end of the table. Blade held tightly in his right hand, Takumi’s heart beat faster as Leo stood up swaying. 

The flames were burning relentless.

Takumi forced himself to take a trembling breath. He was in no position to panic. His retainers were running Hoshido’s last resort on his behalf, Oboro withdrawing the soldiers, Hinata leading troops to execute the explosives. Even if it meant risking his life, he will defend his home.

He thought of Sakura.

Her delicate fingers sewed flowers together, a pink flower crown by her hands. She would place the flower crown on his head, smooth his silver strands from his face, gently bite her lips when her brother blushes at her. They would sit underneath the Sakura tree in the palace’s backyard. One of the most precious memories he ever had, the place a sanctuary he would never allow Nohrians to sully. 

Then he thought of the prince in front of him.

Who wis him to Leo all along? An enemy? A friend? Did Leo valued their memories as much as he treasured them heartedly? Regardless of how Leo consider him, Takumi determined to confront him, it was now or never. If Leo lost his way, he will restore faith in the Nohrian prince.

“You need help, Leo.”

“Did I not seek for consolation? Yet no one can understand my pain.”

Takumi grimaced, eyes narrowed painfully.

“Let me help. I will ease your pain. I will drive out whatever’s haunting your dreams. I will do anything to stop you from hurting yourself. Just tell me what’s bothering you. Those eyes… Don’t look at me with that pair of dead eyes!”

Leo at night, thrashing and breathing heavily in bed. Even if he held him tight, Leo wouldn’t stop shivering. And when Leo finally woke up from the nightmare, he would say he is fine even if his glassy eyes were saying otherwise. 

Takumi knew others were powerless to save him from his own nightmares. 

Leo had his own devil, so did Takumi.

But the one last thing he would ever do was to watch his loved ones suffer.

“Please. Let me help you.”

The tug and twist of his heart made Takumi frown, his fist tightened around the blade. Raising his head, he could see Leo’s eyes widened, before resuming to expressionless.

“Said you, pointing the blade at me.” Leo sneered, running his hand through his hair. “I’m beyond help. Your words won’t save me, Takumi.”

Ping. The blade hit the floor, sliding to the far corner of the room.

“No! I won’t let you die, nor will I let you slaughter any further!”

“Takumi…”

Leo knew Takumi better than himself. The prince cherished his kingdom and his family more than anything. He did this, not for Leo’s sake, but to satisfy his own pride and earn other’s compliment. Leo despised this part of him. If it wasn’t Takumi holding his expectation, if he could truly think for himself once…

He could have…

He would have…

The memory crashed Leo’s mind in full force. Blood pouring onto the floor, when Leo supported Takumi whose breathes were so shaky and shallow. Blood smeared onto his face, when Takumi tried to caress him in a clumsy try. Takumi was forcing a smile, even if he was in great pain, even if death was upon him.

“Forgive me, Leo.”

A tear slid down his cheek.

“You know I have to do this. I can’t escape my obligation even if I go with you.”

Leo shook his head. “You knew you would get killed. You fool.”

Takumi laughed, before the laughers soon turned into agonizing coughs. “Promise me. Find a better person who will truly bring you happiness, for I am selfish.”

“We are never meant to be.”

Leo allowed himself a long suffering sigh before banishing the painful memory. Flipping Brynhildr, he summoned a tree shoot to trap Takumi. He didn’t blink at Takumi’s pained grunt.

“You shouldn’t have let your guards down, Hoshidian prince.”

“Why…?”

Leo marched toward Takumi, till they were a breath away.

“What can you do even if I tell you? Why? You demand an answer when no one knew the truth better than you. Tell me why!” How could Takumi ask him so innocently, as if he wasn’t equally guilty in all of this. The blood on his hands were as red as it was on Takumi’s. 

“It is because of you…”

Takumi’s eyes widened.

“It is because you’re here. If it isn’t for you, I wouldn’t have live any longer, suffer any longer. I wouldn’t have to see my siblings dying in front of me! I blame you. If you didn’t exist, if you didn’t exist at the very first place…”

Takumi couldn’t breathe, he had forgotten to breath. What Leo just said had confirmed his greatest fear. It was him who had been haunting Leo, who had been tormenting Leo. He bit his lips painfully, ducked his head to avoid the relentless cold from Leo.

Gesturing his hand, Leo stared at the deadly spell on Brynhildr. This is it. Kill Takumi, put a full stop to his odyssey. He could hear his devil whispering to him, inducing his fury. He slowly held his palm flat on Takumi’s forehead.

“How many lives do you need to live before you find someone worth dying for?”

Peculiar, Leo couldn’t stop his memories flashing.

He remembered asking Xander the question, out of the blue that totally caught him off guard. By that time, he was merely at Xander’s waist. Xander patted his head, laughing as if his brother had must made a joke. Leo blushed, embarrassment turned into anger as he started to walk away curtly.

“I am not laughing at you, brother. Don’t be ashamed.” Xander said, “Even the rumors tend to fantasize me, I’m fathomless upon love. But remember, always, love and cherish the people with whom fate brings you together.” 

How many times had he died? How many times had he repeat to save Takumi? Leo thought bitterly. If it is truly fate that brings him to this role, would he rather not meet Takumi at the first place? 

“Is it because of… me?” Takumi’s soft murmur pulled him out of his thoughts.

“…”

“If I have never existed, will that makes it easier for you?”

“…!”

Takumi swallowed, a noise from his throat escaped his lips. The next sound was a sob, he blinked his eyes open and found his vision hazy. He forced his eyes shut, gritting as the shuddering took over his body. 

A yield from the high prince of Hoshido, came so unexpectedly that Leo grabbed a handful of grey locks. Knowing that there was no fight left in Takumi. Knowing that Takumi will not escape. Knowing that Takumi will let him inflict his wrath on him.

He hadn’t realized how much Takumi had changed. In retrospect, after going through these repeated torments, he became ruthless and distanced, compare to Takumi, who became approachable and soft-hearted. 

Who is him to Takumi now? An enemy? A friend? A terror? 

The first time, Takumi had shoot an arrow right into his chest.

The last time, Takumi let him captured his lips. 

It was a painful transformation to witness. 

“I couldn’t…” Leo lowered his hand, took two unsteady steps back. He couldn’t kill the man in front of him. Palm on his face, he laughed in mockery. “I am a coward. A coward who never learns to help, but ruin things further.”

“You are not.” Takumi whispered, surprised to found himself alive. He took a stuttering breath before continue. “You are not because you are the one who told me to stay my course when I lost my way to the darkness.”

Leo sighed.

“Is it? You will give me your forgiveness?”

Takumi nodded silently. He had to make time for Oboro and Hinata.

“Are you true to your words?”

Takumi said nothing. He knew no promises can lure Leo in such insanity state. Instead he just looked at him, like the first time they met, as if a look in the eyes everything can be explained.

“I believe in you, Takumi.”

Surprisingly, Takumi was released from the tree, dropped onto the floor. 

“Please forgive me.”

Takumi tried to stood up. Too late. Leo drawn his sword and stabbed it right into his shoulder. Hissing painfully, Takumi was seized by shock and fear. Leo rested his hand on Takumi’s cheek, a brief caress on the chin, before walking away.

“I will do what I must, before I come back for you.”

“No. Leo. Don’t!” 

Even though he knew he would.

Screaming, screaming and more screaming. Takumi didn’t cease his cries in fear, even when Leo’s silhouette faded into the long hallway. The prince who would blush when his collar was inside out, who would spoil his retainers, who would smile so sweetly when he was making beef stew. Now turned away without looking back, without one look of sympathy, without one thought of mercy.

What happened to you, Leo?

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. Your comments and kudos will support me.
> 
> This is a classic time loop fic with Leo as the trapped protagonist. The prologue is a glimpse of the becoming of Leo and Takumi after several painful failures. The story will continue of a flashback from the beginning. I am a inexperienced writer (not a native speaker either), so please forgive mistakes or unclear description. Hopefully a slow progress of this story will be maintained. YAY!


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